Nickel Market Report April 2015

Abstract 4
1 International market review 4
1.1 LME nickel prices super drop bounce 4
1.2 Import prices of lateritic nickel ore from Philippines remain at low levels 5
2 Chinese domestic market review 5
2.1 Lateritic nickel ore prices hover at low levels 5
2.2 Nickel cathodes market rebounds from bottom 6
2.3 Ferronickel market hovers at low levels 8
2.4 Nickel sulfate prices follow with increasing nickel prices 10
3 Production data 11
3.1 Chinese nickel cathodes output down by 3.13% MOM in April 11
3.2 Chinese ferronickel output up by 8.03% MOM in April 12
4 Lateritic nickel ore stocks in China’s main ports in March 14
5 Import data analysis 15
5.1 Chinese nickel ore imports up by 82.63% MOM in March 15
5.2 Chinese refined nickel and nickel alloy imports down by 44.86% MOM in March 19
5.3 Chinese ferronickel imports up by 26.85% MOM in March 22
6 Company news 25
6.1 Jinyang Ferroalloy reduced ferronickel production in April. 25
6.2 Jinshengan Fireproofing plans to restart ferronickel production 25
6.3 Qifei Mining Industry reduces high-grade ferronickel production to 1,000t in April 25
6.4 Sherritt International Corporation nickel production from the metals division at a 9,013t 25
7 Related industry developments 26
7.1 Stainless steel scrap 26
7.2 300 series stainless steel 26
8 Outlook for May 26
8.1 Lateritic nickel ore 26
8.2 Nickel cathodes 26
8.3 Ferronickel 27
8.4 Nickel salts 27

Picture
Picture 1 LME nickel cash price chart in April 4
Picture 2 Prices for Chinese lateritic nickel ore 1.8% delivered-at-ports in April 6
Picture 3 Prices for nickel cathodes in April 7
Picture 4 Prices for nickel cathodes of Jinchuan brand on spot market in April 7
Picture 5 Prices for nickel of Norilsk brand on Chinese spot market in April 8
Picture 6 Prices for Nickel of Inco brand on Chinese spot market in April 8
Picture 7 Prices for ferronickel 10%min in China in April 9
Picture 8 Prices for nickel sulfate from Jinchuan brand factory in April 10
Picture 9 Nickel sulfate prices from Jinchuan brand in April 11
Picture 10 Demonstrates Chinese nickel cathodes output from 2014-2015 11
Picture 11 Demonstrates Chinese ferronickel output from 2014-2015 13
Picture 12 Ferronickel outputs in April 14
Picture 13 Demonstrates Chinese nickel ore and concentrate imports from 2014-2015 15
Picture 14 Demonstrates Chinese nickel ore and concentrate imports from the Philippines from 2014-2015 15
Picture 15 Demonstrates Chinese refined nickel and nickel alloy imports from 2014-2015 19
Picture 16 Demonstrates Chinese ferronickel imports from 2014-2015 22



Table

Table 1 Lateritic nickel ore market import prices in China 5
Table 2 Ferronickel 10%min purchase prices from some major stainless steel plants in April and May 9
Table 3 Nickel cathodes outputs in China in April 12
Table 4 Ferronickel outputs in April 13
Table 5 Lateritic nickel ore stocks on 30 April 2015 14
Table 6 Chinese lateritic nickel ore import origins in March 16
Table 7 Top ten Chinese nickel ore/concentrate importers in March 2015 16
Table 8 Chinese nickel ore sand and nickel concentrate imports in March 17
Table 9 Chinese refined nickel and nickel alloy import origins in April 19
Table 10 Top ten Chinese other un-wrought nickel cathode importers in March 2015 20
Table11 Chinese unwrought non-alloy nickel import enterprises in March 18
Table 12 Chinese ferronickel import origins in March 2015 21
Table 13 Top ten Chinese ferronickel importers in March 2015 21
Table 14 Chinese ferronickel import enterprises in March 22
.Asian Metal Copyright3 Qifei Mining Industry reduces high-grade ferronickel production to 1,000t in April 25 6Asian Metal Copyright